The United States and Japan will step up their defence cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday.

Transhipping put under the spotlight

The Queensland government says it is committed to banning transhipping on Great Barrier Reef waters amid concerns the practice could increase under tough new port laws.

Transhipping involves coal being loaded onto a barge that transports the coal offshore and put on a larger ship, and has been viewed as a way to reduce the need for dredging.

Conservationists say the risky practice needs to be banned after government on Wednesday introduced new legislation to stop new ports being built along the reef coast and ban sea dumping of dredge spoil.

WWF Great Barrier Reef campaigner Louise Matthiesson said transhipping was sometimes seen as a way of getting around port restrictions and the last thing conservationists wanted to see was an increase in the practice on the reef.

"The government made a specific promise to ban the practice of transhipping," she said.

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"While it is not a direct port development issue, we are already committed to banning transhipping," a spokesman for Ports Minister Mark Bailey said.

"We are working with other state government agencies and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on the transhipping issue to determine the best way forward."

Paul Oosting from Getup said the government urgently needed to act.

"Both the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and UNESCO have concerns about the coal dust from transhipping operations ending up in the water and impacting marine life in the World Heritage Area," he said.

Mitchell Ports had proposed an expansion at the Port of Hay Point that would involve transhipping off the Mackay coast.

Hay Point Community Action Group spokesman Peter Dallas, who lives adjacent to the proposed operation, said the community wanted the practice banned.

"The Queensland government needs to keep its promise to our community," he said.